Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear speaks to CNN on Saturday. (CNN)
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said there could be “many more” deaths from devastating flooding in the eastern part of the state.
“It’s going to get worse. And I think we’re going to be updating it, maybe even over the next few weeks. . . . There’s still a lot of people unaccounted for. And in this area, it’s going to be a difficult task to achieve. a firm number of people disappeared,” he told CNN in an interview.
At least 25 people have died in the flooding so far, Beshear said earlier Saturday.
At a briefing later in the afternoon, Beshear outlined the death toll by county: four in Breathitt County, two in Clay County, 14 in Knott County, two in Letcher County and three in Perry County.
Beshear noted during the press conference that authorities now believe “there are only four children in this group and not six.”
“The two original children who reported to us have now turned out to be adults,” he said. “It’s still two people who are missing and we’re sorry for them, but we wanted to make sure we had our most recent information.”
He said rain is expected to return later Sunday, so rescue teams are moving as quickly as possible.
“The water is still high in some counties. It’s crested in most, but not all. Water systems are overflowing, so there’s no water or water that’s not safe to boil. Think about the bathrooms in whole counties. We have a hospital. that has no water. So there are real challenges. And we’re still in this thing. Even though it’s stopped raining, and thank God it’s stopped raining, we’re still in the search and rescue mode,” Beshear said. CNN.
“For now, the forecast looks like the counties below Mountain Parkway, an inch to two inches, possibly, which could be rough. That’s expected to move through parts of Monday and then clear up,” he added at the information session. “The challenge after that, it’s going to be really hot as we go through the week.”
National Guard units from Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia have made more than 660 air rescues and there have been more than 600 water rescues, Beshear told CNN.
Rescuers with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife are also at the forefront of recovery efforts, he said.
“In the end they had to put the bodies together more than anybody else,” Beshear said. “The mission has been particularly difficult and what they are experiencing first-hand is tremendously stressful and difficult.”
Although search and rescue operations continue, the governor noted that officials are already making preparations to assist the displaced.
“To everyone in Eastern Kentucky, we will be there for you today and in the weeks, months and years to come. We will get through this together,” Beshear said in a tweet Saturday.
“This is a type of flooding that even an area that sees flooding has never seen in our lifetime,” Beshear told CNN after returning Friday from an aerial tour of flooding in Breathitt County.